Star Trek meets with old friend Balok and Lt Bailey
by susan cousineau
Summary: This is the story of the Enterprise and its encounter with a time traveler named Mericus from Balok's home planet. The two team up together and again save the universe.


Captain Kirk had been out in deep space with the Enterprise for over 4 and one half years now. He had met several different kinds of beings, and had to his surprise found that most of the beings that he and his ship had met were looking for the same thing he was and were not violent at all.  
Kirk had just laid down on his bed when the red alert went off. He immediately went to the intercom and Mr. Spock said that there was a ship headed toward them at a high rate of speed (warp 9) and that they were not responding to their attempts at communication.  
Just as Kirk said "on my way" the ship was struck by a phaser. The force threw Kirk against the wall and he started to run toward the bridge. As he approached the bridge the ship was again hit by the other ships phaser. "Spock tell me what is going on." he commanded  
'Without warning this ship attacked us. They are going very fast and have refused all attempts for us to communicate. It is a small ship with no more than ten crew members. It is run by no known mode of engine and has the capability of striking us whenever it wants. " Spock told them.  
The ship had stopped some thousand miles from the Enterprise and was just waiting. It would appear that it was waiting for orders or something. Kirk started to reflect on the last time the ship had been in this quadrant. He had met a man named Balok,. Balok also had used the same type of fuel for his ship. He thought of the young Lr. Bailey that he had left with Balok just three years ago and wondered if he too was in the area.  
Kirk then made the decision to address the being in the other ship as a friend of Balok and Lt Bailey. Perhaps that would help him and save his ship. As he was pondering the thought the ship made another maneuver and was again headed right toward the Enterprise.  
Without warning in the blink of an eye the ship disappeared. It did not move again it just disappeared. Spock was watching the actions carefully and announced that "the ship is gone, there is no sign that the ship is anywhere within two quadrants."  
Although the ship had been struck three times during the battle the damage had not been life threatening as the shields as held, "That's impossible. The ship even at warp fifteen could not have gone that far. It must have gone to another time or dimension." Kirk announced.  
As they were contemplating what they were to do another ship, a smaller one came into their view. This time it was a familiar ship, and to Kirk and the rest of the crews pleasure they found that this ship was captained by their friend Balok and yes their old shipmate Lt Bailey was still with them.  
It was decided that it would be better for Kirk and Spock with their old friend McCoy go to the other ship to meet with their old friends. When they arrived they were greeted with smiles and handshakes but Balok had a very concerned look on his face as did their friend Lt Bailey.  
"It is good to see you old friend. I do wish that we could meet under better circumstances, though. I was on my way to your location when we had heard the transmissions of the crew of the Gonsi. It is a very dangerous ship and has the ability to transcend the dimension of time, in the blink of an eye. My people have been chasing the vessel for months.. The man at the helm was one of our most trusted people. He is smart and relentless and has made it his work to change time." Balok told them.  
" Although this ship that we inhabit is faster, the Enterprise has a higher ability to sustain itself. The one problem that the Gonsi has is that after three phaser attacks or after too much stress is put on it/s drive enging, it must take time to cool down. That is how I have been able to keep track of the Gonsi for the past few months." Lt Bailey offered.  
"This man on the other ship why does he keep on coming back? It would seem to me that the logical thing to do would be to stay out of his own time until he is successful in changing history to the way that he wishes it to be." Spock offered.  
"Time travel on our end has not been perfected, and although the Gonsi. has the ability to go back in time, it can only go back a very short time, as it cannot go forward in time at all. So, as of right now they can only change the immediate time. But, word in my realm is that he is close to perfecting that problem and when he does the universe could be changed. It could mean the end of all life as you and I know it." Balok told them.  
"How long does he have at maximum before he will appear again in our space?" Spock asked the man.  
"So far the longest he has gone is one and one half hours. At the highest speed that his ship is capable of he could be millions of miles away from this area when he next appears, or he can be at the same spot. I am currently working on finding some sort of path that he would leave that could possibly mark the spot that he is headed toward. So far, we have been unsuccessful in being able to distinguish any particles that would allow this to happen." Balok told them.  
"We are in the area now where that ship disappeared. We noticed that it stood still for several moments before taking off and disappearing." Kirk picked up his communicator and said "Scotty I need you to scan for any kind of matter or anything that would indicate where that ship went. I want to know did the ship leave a paper trail?"  
"I will run the scan immediately sir. We have been looking for any indication of where the ship went since you left, and have been unsuccessful. We are continuing the search now." Scotty told him.  
'What kind of information do you have on this ship that could be of assistance to us? We do not quite understand what propels you through space, actually. You use a different type of system from us. Perhaps understanding that will help me." Kirk told him.  
" I will be glad to have Lt. Bailey here show your science officer Spock our system. What we need is a ship like the Enterprise to be the one that follows the Gonsi. into the time that they are to go to. As you don't understand our ship and some of its components, we do not understand your ship. Perhaps with that lack of information, we could succeed in stopping the Gonsi before it does more harm.  
Meanwhile Dr. McCoy had been able to do an examination of Lt. Bailey and had been pleased with the results. The assignment to this ship had been beneficial to him, and Lt Bailey had matured vastly in the last year or so. "You are just what I like to have the pleasure of examining. You are in perfect shape sir." Dr. McCoy said with a smile.  
Balok had the appearance of just being a child, but had confided in Kirk that he was actually three hundred and thirty earth years old. He had been in many galaxies during his long life, but was getting lonely and had gladly accepted Lt. Bailey to come to work with him aboard his ship.  
Although Star Fleet had kept in touch with Lt. Bailey, no one had actually seen him since the Enterprise had left him with Balok over a year ago. All things had been going well according to all contact that they had made so far, and their man Lt. Bailey had made it clear that his job was not done and that him and Balok were having many adventures together.  
Kirk and McCoy went back to the Enterprise Kirk to be the captain and McCoy to tend to his duties as the head surgeon. Spock had asked to remain on the ship with Balok and Lt. Bailey so that he could spend more time learning the different parts of the alien ship.  
When Kirk again arrived on the Enterprise he immediately went to engineering to speak with Scotty. Montgomery Scott was one of the best in the fleet. If there was something for them to find he would find it, and if the Enterprise needed to get somewhere in a hurry Scotty was the man that Kirk and the rest of the crew depended on. Many times it had been because of Chief Engineer Scott that the Enterprise had survived alien attacks.  
Between Scotty and Mr. Spock it did not take long to discover through the ships computer system the trail of lexon that the Gonsi. was leaving as it left for another time. The lexon was very light in their area however, Scotty and Mr. Scott had found a way to trace it to the source. It was too late this time for the ship to catch the Gonsi.. They would have to wait for where the ship would show up.  
Kirk knew that the best way to catch the Gonsi was to use the ship that Balock captained. The ship was much faster and could be adapted to travel through time itself. The Enterprise had been to another time on more than one occasion and Spock could give Balock and Lt Bailey the figures that they would need to use to capture the Gonsi..  
To adjust the system that Balock used would take some time and without being familiar with the engines he would need Lt Baileys help also. The confinement that the ship of Balock offered was a huge problem. Scotty could not fit into the place that he was needed, but their friend laughed and climbed into the space easily. With Scotty and Mr. Spock working together the ship had soon been adapted to be able to travel through time.  
Kirk was hopeful that ship would not need to travel through time, but if it became necessary for Balok to follow the Gonsi. to another time that ship had the best chance of catching it. Balok's ship was capable of going nearly twice as fast as the Enterprise and was much smaller and more maneuverable. It had the best chance of chasing the other ship and once the Gonsi. reached their time again the Enterprise would be waiting.  
What they would need is extremely good luck and all of the skill that they could muster to take down this very dangerous enemy. Captain Kirk would need Scotty onboard the Enterprise to help with any problems that might come up, but Mr. Spock had expressed the wish to stay with Balok and Lt Bailey.  
"It is my opinion that the logical thing is to keep me on board of the ship with Balok. After all I am the one who knows the figures that are needed to bring us back and forth through time and I am the one that has been responsible for the success of the Enterprise time travels." Spock had told him.  
So it had been decided that Spock would stay on the ship and help both Balok and Lt Bailey, while they would continue to keep the communications open at all times. If the ship did have to travel through time, it would be ok, however, they would have no ship to ship contact between each other.  
Mr. Checkov had taken over Mr. Spock's job and had been scanning to the furthest reaches of the galaxy when he saw the tell tale sign that lexon was in the vicinity, in fact the ship was very close. This time, though, the two ships were ready and each went into the attack mode.  
"Shields up." Kirk commanded, and before he could say anything else Balok was off after the other ship. With a flash the Gonsi. disappeared once again hiding in another time.  
Not one half a minute later Mr. Spock and his friends Balok and Lt. Bailey also disappeared into another time. It had been their thought that they would go back one hour and look for signs that the ship had landed there. Spock hoped that if they went back in time in two minute intervals that the two ships would meet soon. He also had the ability to go forward in time something that the other ship did not have the capability of doing as of yet, at least that is what he hoped.  
Balok was a skilled handler of the spaceship Alvana and brought the vessel out of the other time with ease. When they arrived at the time, there was no sign of the other ship. That is when the ship began going back in two minute increments. It was a slow process, but it was necessary for them to go back in short increments so that they would not lose each other as they traveled through time and space.  
After three earth hours of time the Alvana finally landed in the right time, and there they found the Gonsi.. The captain of the other ship was not prepared to meet the other ship and with a short battle, the Gonsi was in desperate ways. Balok called to the other ship offering to bring them into tow but the captain of the other ship refused his aid. He would wait for the proper time and he had friends out there that would come to their aid.  
The three men on the Alvana knew that what was said could be very true. They were now just one hour and ten minutes behind in time from the time that they had originally left the other time. The Enterprise would soon be in their sights. The first contact was to be only thirty six minutes and nine seconds away.  
Without warning the tables were turned on the three men and they soon found themselves in the middle of two other ships, each with their weapons aimed directly at the engines of the Alvana. The way that the ship was set up Spock knew that they would have but a very short time before their life support would fail.  
Balok was speaking to the captain of one of the other ships when without warning the other ship fired upon the Alvana. The ship shook uncontrollably and the three men were thrown around, but the ship held its own. Balok fired back quickly and efficiently, the other ship withdrew to avoid being hit again. Mr. Spock was impressed by the skill that Balok had, but there were still two other ships that they needed to contend with.  
Balok signaled to Spock and within one second off they went in time once again. For the Enterprise this would have been impossible, as the energy would have been drained to a too low level and the ship would have been dead in the water as they say. This time the Alvana went back in time just seven minutes and was waiting for the other ships when they arrived. Balok had all the ships totally disabled before the ships could react and with the aid of themselves once again they defeated the Gonsi..  
The captain of the other ship was then forced to surrender to the Alvana.. He boarded with displeasure but did introduce himself as Mericus. His ship had but a crew of two and when he had left the ship it was put into tow by Balok.  
Mericus was brought on board the Enterprise where Kirk and his team could interrogate him, after all he had attacked the Enterprise earlier on that day. Balok offered him to the people of the Federation as a gift more or less.  
Mericus was a small man like Balok and you could tell that each one of them were from the same planet. He was smart and cunning and Kirk would have to be careful around him.  
Meanwhile Mericus had been observing these strange creatures that inhabited the large starship in which he was being held prisoner. He could easily escape from the cell that they were holding him, a silly thing that required just a changing of the molecular structure. He could free himself in less than a minute. But that was not what he wanted, he wanted the knowledge that these people had, the ability to go back and forth in time and he wanted the information.  
Mericus had not been there long when he had overheard one of the crew members speaking of their science officer Mr. Spock. This man was the person who had used his knowledge to go through the ripples of time. He could do the calculations within a few minutes. It was then that Mericus made the decision to take Mr. Spock into his confidence.  
Mr. Spock was not like the rest of the strange beings on this ship. His skin color was different and he had very oddly shaped ears. It was also clear that he was the smartest and most trusted member of the crew next to their captain. He would be tough to trick him, but Mericus was certain that he could do just that.  
The next morning Mericus made his move. Without skipping a beat he walked through the wall and put one of the crew members who had been guarding him back into his cell. He then sealed it up leaving the guard with no way to call for help. It also gave Mericus the phaser. The phaser was very crude but it would do the job, and with that Mericas headed toward Mr. Spock. He was able to locate him using the tricorder that the guard had left unattended and as Spock rounded the corner Mericus was waiting for him.  
Spock gave up a good fight but Mericus had the needle and had given the man a large dose of melidan , the man would sleep for hours probably. He then contacted his friend on the ship that was nearby and stepped into the transportation chamber. With that he and Mr. Spock were on their way to what Mericus hoped would be a successful journey.  
Sulu had been watching the con when he saw that someone had just beamed off of the ship. The person had gone to the waiting ship that had just appeared in their zone moments before. The Enterprise had not had time to react, but Balok was watching the other ship and was after the other ship. The other ship did not have the ability to go through time, and to Balok's astonishment when he ran a scan on the ship he found that the ship had kidnaped Mr. Spock. He knew that they were trying to get Mr. Spock to give them the information that Mericus and his friends would need so that they could go through time anytime that they had wanted to.  
Meanwhile Mr. Spock had regained consciousness and was greeted by Mericus. The man looked similar to a child and even Spock found it hard for him to think of him as a man. His voice sounded very childlike as was his demeanor.  
"It is our wish that we receive all of the information about time travel that you obviously know about. We do not wish to force the information from you, however, if forced we will give you the drugs necessary to make you talk.  
Spock looked at his captor and thought for a brief moment. "Sir, it would not be logical for me to tell you anything about time travel.. You have not approached the subject in a way that is the most logical. You did not make a sensible move when you kidnaped me. First the ship and Balok will be on your tail quickly. You have kidnaped an officer of the Federation, something that will bring their wrath upon you and your friends. It is in your best interest that you allow me to go back to my ship and that you negotiate for better terms with us." Spock told him.  
Spock always had an emergency decoder on him. This was something that Dr. McCoy had insisted be implanted whenever someone went on another ship. It was there so that if everything was not as expected Spock could still communicate with the Enterprise. The communication was very limited and was in a code, but still he could get the message through. All he needed was some time that he could be alone.  
Mericus let Spock know that he would give him just ten minutes to make up his mind. If Spock did not cooperate the consequences would be worse than anything he could imagine.  
For all of the intelligence and the advancement of these people, Spock found them to be very gullible. He would be off of the ship before they could say his name, all he had to do was to let the captain know where he was. Even if the ship had some sort of protection from scanning, the beam would go straight to the Enterprise computers. However, first he wanted to know what they were up to and how close they were to figuring out how to go from time to time. He must discourage this or they would figure it out sooner or later anyway.  
It was Spocks hope that he could convince Mericus and his men of the dangers of time travel. He was a peaceful man and the last thing that he wanted was to have to do any type of harm to the men who had kidnaped him, but he knew that his knowledge was dangerous and if it ever was discovered by the wrong person everyone would be in danger. Perhaps everyone in the universe.  
When Mericus came back into the room, he was surprised at the calm demeanor that Mr. Spock was showing to him. He was sure that he must be nervous, but he was not showing any such thing to him.  
"Have you decided what you plan to do? It is useless for you to think that you can escape to your ship as we are three times as fast as the Enterprise and twice as fast as your friend Balok's small vessel. " Mericus warned.  
"I understand your wishes sir, but it is against my very being that I would give you any of the information that I have on the knowledge of time travel. The information that I hold should not be given to but a very few. The way that you have treated me and the way that you used your power to attack both a friend of yours and a star ship shows me that you are not the type of person who should have that type of information." Spock told him.  
"Then unfortunately for you I am ordering for my men to start the interrogation. It is very painful and you will talk." Mericus told him.  
The torture chamber had little if not no effect on this man. It appeared to Mericus that he had no emotion and could withstand things that a normal being would not be able to. As a matter of fact it appeared that this man could resist treatments that would kill most of the men that he had met.  
With great sadness Mericus let Spock go and took him back to his room. He knew that this man could easily escape from any prison he had so he posted the guard outside of his front door. It was the hope of Mericus that with only the two men on his ship and Mr. Spock, that perhaps the two of them could win his confidence.  
As Spock looked through the work that he was allowed to look at he saw that Mericus was very close to figuring out the flip flop of time that he wished for so badly. He had to adjust a few items and change a few of the ingredients, but he was close too close to leave the ship without somehow being stopped.  
Spock was sitting at his the desk that had been provided him when he felt the first hit from a phaser. It nearly knocked him to the ground, and Mericus went running by his front door. The ships lights were flickering and he could tell that the ship was in certain danger. Spock sent a quick message to the Enterprise saying 2000 bc. It was then that he made his mood and started up the time chamber. Before Mericus could move Spock had sent the ship back in time some three thousand years.  
It was at the arrival in the time, that Spock learned of the damage to the ship. The ship barely had survived going back in time, and as they landed the ship nearly totally fell apart. It was then that the three men found themselves marooned. It was Mr. Spock's hope that the Enterprise had received his transmission and that they would soon be there, but he could not count on that totally at this time.  
All three of the men survived the crash, and found themselves in a strange world. There were different animals, animals that none of them had ever seen, and no sign of any human life as of yet. They were here all three of them on a strange planet with no way to get back to their own time. The prospect was not good.  
Spock had been able to save his tricorder and was looking at the different plants when he saw the men of the Enterprise beaming down. The group consisted of his friend Captain James Kirk. and his friend Dr. McCoy with two members of the crew.  
Mericus saw them beaming down and started right toward them, but Kirk and the crew were faster and had their phasers out and pointing at Mericus and his friend in less than a moment.  
"Mr. Spock glad to see you and your captors. It would seem that their ship has crash landed in a good place. It would seem that perhaps it is the place that we should leave these men, with them trapped here our worlds would be safe." Kirk announced.  
Mericus and his partner Navis looked very dejected at this point. They both knew that they had been caught doing something that was punishable by death in their own home planets. "I have done wrong and I apologize for my actions." Mericus offered.  
Spock and Kirk then had a conversation away from the others. "I worry that if we send Mericus back to our time he will finish his job and become successful in his attempt at time travel both bank and forth in trial." Kirk told Spock.  
"He is a strong and smart man. It is my opinion that if we bring him back to our time, no one will be safe. He is but possibly six months from perfecting his time traveling vehicle and he will use it. He is determined to use it, and he will do anything to make sure that he can use it for his own good." Spock told him.  
Spock and Kirk heard the familiar sound that was heard when someone was beaming down and saw Lt. Bailey materializing. Balok had followed the Enterprise back in time and was there to make sure that Mericus stayed where Spock had managed to trap him.  
Lt. Bailey looked at the man and then said "Balok wishes that you be left here with the supplies that you will need for survival. Once you have taken everything off of the ship that you will need to insure your survival, we have orders to destroy your ship. We want to make sure that you never have access to time travel again." he told the group.  
With that a home was built and sufficient medical supplies were left with the two men. They would have enough food and medical supplies and books to read to keep them busy for the next fifty years. It was agreed that Balok would check on them every once in a while, but neither him or Lt. Bailey would ever beam down to the planet again.  
"Please the last place that we wish to spend the rest of our lives is here on this planet. There is no sign of any other beings such as us and we will spend many years alone. This is not a fair way to treat us." Mericus asked.  
"If we send you back to our time you would be executed for your actions. This way you have a chance to live a normal life, but no one will be in danger from you." Kirk told him.  
With that the house that the two men would be sharing was built and everything that the men would need to survive was taken from the craft, as ordered the ship was destroyed.  
As they beamed back to the ship for a moment Kirk felt sorry for the men, but then once again the universe was safe. As they arrived back on the ship, they were glad to find that things were as they had been before and with that the Enterprise and the Alvara went on their proper ways.

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End file.
